August 6, 2025 • 39 mins
Welcome back, friends! I'm so excited to kick off Season 2 of Hope Smiling Brightly with the final part of this powerful series on what it really means to be a woman in Zion. In this episode, we’re diving into the the second word I found repeated over and over again in reference to women — how it’s woven into who we are as daughters of God, how it shows up in scripture, and why it’s so needed in the world right now.
We'll explore some beautiful symbolism from the parable of the ten virgins, talk about what it means to “trim your lamp,” and how to use your unique gifts, experiences, and covenants to truly shine with Christ’s light. Whether you're a mom, single, newly discovering your identity, or just needing some encouragement — this one’s for YOU.
🚢 Upcoming Event: Alaska Cruise 2026!
Guess what?! I’m going on a bucket list LDS Alaskan cruise and… I’d love for you to come too!
📅 When: July 30–August 6, 2026
🛳️ Where: Alaska, baby!
🎤 I’ll be speaking on sea days, joining optional private excursions at each port, and connecting with new friends in an uplifting, gospel-centered environment.
🔗 Reserve your spot now: https://bountifultravel.com/trips/family-get-away-alaska-cruise-2/
💰 It’s just $400 to lock in your spot!
Come alone or bring your besties or fam — either way, I can’t wait to hang out with you in Alaska. 🐋🌲
💛 Stay Connected with Me:
📸 Instagram: @amberdawnpearce
🎥 YouTube: Hope Smiling Brightly Podcast
🎵 TikTok: @amberdawnpearce
📘 Facebook: Amber Dawn Pearce
✨ Journal Prompts & Questions to Ask God:
How can I better understand and use the gifts God has given me?
Am I fueling my life with Christ — or with something else?
What would it look like for me to truly “trim my lamp” right now?
📚 References & Quotes:
• Elder M. Russell Ballard – “Let Our Voices Be Heard”
• President Spencer W. Kimball – “The Role of Righteous Women”
• President Russell M. Nelson – “A Plea to My Sisters” –
• President Russell M. Nelson – “Spiritual Treasures” –
• Sheri Dew – “Are We Not All Mothers?” –
• Bonnie H. Cordon – “Let Your Light Shine” –
• Elder D. Todd Christofferson – “The Moral Force of Women”
• Revelation 12
• Revelation 17
Revelation 19
• Isaiah 64:8
• Alma 5:27
• D&C; 33:17
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amber (00:00):
President Harold B.
Lee said Women's influence canbless a community or a nation to
that extent, to which shedevelops her spiritual powers in
harmony with the heaven sentgifts with which she has been
endowed by nature.
(00:20):
Welcome to season two of theHope smiling brightly.
Podcast, sharing stories andideas that will empower you to
overcome doubt, cultivate thekind of faith that miracles are
made of, and experience thetransformative grace of Christ.
Whatever it is, Christ is theanswer.
(00:42):
I am your host Amber, also knownas@amberdawnpearce on social
media, hopefully most especiallyknown as someone who loves to
share the light of the restoredgospel of Jesus'Christ.
You are listening to episode 15,the Inherent Power within Every
Woman in Zion.
(01:02):
Little housekeeping here.
I wanna make sure that you knowthat you can watch this show or
listen to it as a podcast.
It's on YouTube, it's on any ofyour favorite podcast apps.
And thank you so much for takinga second to subscribe.
Leave a review or a comment.
It helps me get this content outto more people that might be
(01:26):
seeking it.
Speaker (01:28):
Before we jump in, I wanna share something with you
that I am really excited about.
I am heading on a bucket listcruise to one of the most
beautiful places on earth, and Iwant you to come with me.
I am joining with BountifulTravel for a seven day LDS
Alaskan cruise.
It's happening July 30th throughAugust 6th, 2026.
(01:51):
I will be speaking and sharingtwo unique presentations each
day that we are at sea, Andjoining the optional private
tours for our group at everyport.
I have gone on a cruise with anLDS tour group before, and I
loved how it createdopportunities for wholesome
conversations and an upliftingenvironment.
(02:13):
It was fun meeting like-mindedpeople from all over and making
friends with people that I amstill in touch with several
years later, it truly made ourtrip all the more enjoyable.
Now this tour group withBountiful Travel has limited
space, and you'll want to bookfar in advance to guarantee your
spot.
(02:33):
It's only$400 to reserve yourspot today, so grab your
friends, grab your family, andhead over to bountiful
travel.com to make yourreservation.
I will leave the direct link inthe show notes, but I cannot
wait to see you in Alaska.
Amber (02:54):
Alright.
I left you with a little bit ofa cliffhanger at the end of
season one, so, I have been soexcited to start another great
season with the third and finalpart of my little series on
understanding your magnificentand powerful role as a woman in
Zion.
(03:14):
If this is your first timelistening.
Welcome.
You may want to listen to partone and two of this series
first, if you haven't already,or even if you have, you might
wanna listen to it for a recapto see how all this comes so
beautifully together.
I also wanted to start with alittle reminder that I am on
(03:36):
this journey with you.
My voice will never, ever matchthe voice of the Holy Spirit.
That is why that at the end ofevery podcast, I suggest a
question that you might ask God.
See what answers might come foryou.
Your personal study andcommunication with God will be
more powerful than anything youcan learn from any podcast,
(04:01):
YouTube channel, or contentcreator.
So speaking of questions, thisseries all started with the
question, how do I draw more ofthe power of Jesus Christ into
my life?
Part of the answer to thatquestion be can be found in
asking and understanding what itis to be a woman or man in Zion
(04:23):
and fully stepping into thatrole.
This is what the Lord wants forus in these last days to
establish Zion, so you canguarantee that his power will be
with us as we seek to do so.
And since we each have a uniquerole in establishing Zion, the
next question will be, whatdistinct assignment was I given
(04:47):
in the world before this onewas, If you listen to or watch
the last episode, you know thatin my study to understand the
role of women in Zion, I cameacross two words repeated over
and over again as I scouredthrough every talk that I could
find about women.
That first word was inherent,which we already discussed the
(05:12):
significance of in part two, buttoday I want to talk about what
I know everyone's been waitingfor.
The second word I saw over andover again in reference to
women.
First I noticed a unique call tospecifically women over and over
(05:34):
again.
I wanted to know why women werebeing called to this particular
responsibility.
L isten to these quotes,inviting, pleading with us to
use this inherent gift I'm aboutto talk about for good.
From Elder Ballard, none of uscan afford to stand by and watch
(05:58):
the purposes of God bediminished and pushed aside.
I invite, particularly yousisters here and throughout the
church to seek the guidance ofheaven in knowing what you can
do to let your voice of faithand testimony be heard.
From President Kimball, much ofthe major growth that is coming
(06:20):
to the church in the last dayswill come because many of the
good women of the world in whomthere is often such an inner
sense of spirituality will bedrawn to the church in large
numbers.
And finally, from PresidentNelson.
We need women who have a bedrockunderstanding of the doctrine of
(06:42):
Christ and who will use thatunderstanding to teach and help
raise a sin resistantgeneration.
We need women who can detectdeception in all its forms.
We need women who know how toaccess the power that God makes
available to covenant keepers.
Who express their beliefs withconfidence and charity.
(07:02):
We need women who have thecourage and the vision of our
Mother Eve.
These calls are directlyconnected to the second word I
saw repeated multiple times inconnection to women.
Maybe you can pick up on thisword in the following quotes by
President Nelson.
Sisters, do you realize thebreadth and scope of your
(07:28):
influence when you speak thosethings that come to your heart
and mind as directed by thespirit.
Sisters, please neverunderestimate the extraordinary
power within you to influenceothers for good.
It is a gift with which ourHeavenly Father has endowed
(07:51):
every covenant woman.
And President Nelson asked us tostep forward and take our
rightful place and gave anapostolic promise saying, I
promise you in the name of JesusChrist, that as you do so, the
Holy Ghost will magnify yourinfluence in an unprecedented
(08:13):
way.
Close quote, Have you guessedthe word?
Influence! Influence! I heardit, read it, saw it over and
over again.
Because the unique inherentqualities within women, coupled
with the inherent right tomotherhood, Heavenly Parents
(08:36):
created within us a combinationthat leads to the incredible
gift and power.
Of influence.
Now I have to add a little sidenote here because I know there
are women of all circumstanceshere.
Single married children, nochildren.
(08:56):
I wholeheartedly agree withSheri Dew when she said that.
As daughters of our HeavenlyFather and as Daughters of Eve,
we are all mothers and we havealways been mothers.
The things I'm about to speakare for all women.
All women are blessed with thispowerful gift of influence In
(09:20):
fact, I find it interesting thatif you were to ask me who the
most influential women in thechurch are to me, I would give
you three names without skippinga beat.
Sheri Dew, Wendy Watson Nelson,and Sharon Eubank.
What do these three women happento have in common?
(09:43):
None of them ever bore children.
Clearly they have stepped intotheir role as mothers in Zion
because they have used theirinherent gift of influence
through their eternal motherhoodto greatly influence my life and
the lives of many others.
(10:03):
No matter your circumstance, Godwill help you see how you can
use this gift in magnificentways.
So as Sheri Dew said, sisters,it is high time for us to arise
and have the influence Godintended us to have.
It is high time for us to leadthe women of the world.
It is high time for us to modelthe distinctiveness and
(10:27):
happiness that sets truefollowers of Jesus Christ apart.
The magnificent influence ofwomen is seen in the first woman
created as Eve was the one whohad the wisdom and made the
heroic choice to partake of thefruit and to use her influence
to help Adam understand thatthis is what was needed for the
(10:50):
good of all mankind.
It is seen in Mary who was theinfluence behind the very first
miracle publicly performed,which started the ministry of
her son, Jesus Christ.
And let's note that it was awoman the Savior chose to reveal
himself to first in his mortalministry.
(11:10):
He chose the woman at the welland depended on her influence to
help spread the word of Him andHis mission.
And what about another importantwitness?
Mary Magdalene was the firstwitness of the resurrected
Savior, the one chosen to useher influence to declare the
(11:33):
miraculous news.
almost every story in thescriptures about a woman
witnesses of her influence.
And I can guarantee the evidenceof woman's influence is
intertwined in every singlescripture story, whether about a
woman or not.
I think it's interesting that inthe book of Revelation, it is a
(11:56):
woman that is used to symbolizethe state of the world.
In the last days in opposingways.
In Revelation 12, we see thedescription of the woman clothed
with the sun.
SUN believed by members of thechurch to symbolize God's
covenant people.
(12:17):
But in Revelation 17, we see thedescription of the mother of
harlots and abominations of theearth.
Now I know this is just symbolicand refers to the state of all
God's children and not justwomen, but I personally believe
it holds significance that thereis a deeper reason as to why
words that are used for a groupof people, a city, a nation, are
(12:41):
all feminine.
I believe there is a messagehere, that it is the powerful
influence of women that dictatesthe destiny of a nation for good
or evil.
Though all women have thisinfluence, some will use it for
good, some might be neutral, andsome will use it for evil.
The opposing examples of Estherversus Herods are significant in
(13:05):
showing the power of a woman'sinfluence, whether good or evil.
Here we have two rulers, bothwho had men who were trying to
influence them.
In Esther's case, the evil Hamanwas trying to influence King
Ahasuerus to kill all the Jews.
(13:27):
In Herodias case, the righteousJohn the Baptist was trying to
influence Herod to follow theteachings of Christ.
But who did those rulers listento?
A woman, Esther, who was willingto sacrifice herself to save her
people influence the king forgood.
(13:51):
Herods who wanted to continue inher sinful life, used her own
daughter to use a woman'sinfluence for evil and achieved
her design.
Which was to have the head ofJohn the Baptist.
Notice that in both of thesecases, the result was the death
of the men who had been tryingto influence these rulers.
(14:14):
But Esther was humble andselfless.
While Herodius only cared aboutherself, she was prideful and
selfish.
Our motivation needs to come outof humility and selflessness.
You simply can't tell me thatwomen don't have powerful
influence, whatever theircircumstance may be.
(14:37):
Perhaps this is why our prophethas stated that quote, your
ability to discern truth fromerror to be society's guardians
of morality is crucial in theselatter days, and we depend upon
you to teach others to dolikewise.
Let me be very clear about this.
If the world loses the moralrectitude of its women, the
(15:00):
world will never recover Closequote.
And Elder Christofferson said,whether you are single or
married, whether you have bornchildren or not, whether you are
old or young, or in between yourmoral authority is vital.
And perhaps we have begun totake it and you for granted.
Certainly there are trends andforces at work that would weaken
(15:23):
and even eliminate yourinfluence to the great detriment
of individuals, families, andsociety at large.
Close quote, How important itis.
as we strive to fully step intoour role as women in Zion, to
recognize and use our inherentinfluence to bring others with
us to Zion.
(15:43):
God has prepared women for thistime to be the kind of influence
the world actually needs.
The influence women of theChurch of Jesus Christ of
Latterday Saints have is unique.
The truths of the gospel coupledwith the opportunities provided
as an active member of thechurch is rich soil for these
inherent gifts to grow into truegodliness.
(16:07):
It doesn't matter if our numbersare small, as we make and keep
covenants the name of Christupon us and endowed with
priesthood power, our influencebecomes one of the most
important and powerful on Earth.
As President Nelson said, thekingdom of God is not and cannot
be complete without women whomake sacred covenants and then
(16:31):
keep them women who can speakwith the power and authority of
God.
So how can we make sure we areinfluencing in the way that God
needs?
Bonnie Corden explained that theLord's invitation to let our
Light, so shine is not justabout randomly waving a beam of
(16:52):
light and making the worldgenerally brighter.
It is about focusing our lightso others may see the way to
Christ.
So how do we do this?
How do we make sure weunderstand and focus our own
unique light?
The answer can be found in awell-known parable, but a part
of it we don't talk about asmuch The symbolism behind the 10
(17:16):
virgins and their oil lamps.
We often focus on having enoughoil, but that isn't the only
instruction in D&C section 33verse 17, it says.
Wherefore be faithful praying,always having your lamps trimmed
(17:37):
and burning and oil with youthat you may be ready at the
coming of the bridegroom.
And Camille Johnson referred tothat scripture, just in the
April 25 general conference.
She said, keep your lamp full ofthe oil conversion to Jesus
Christ and be prepared to keepyour lamp trimmed and burning
(18:02):
bright.
I had never seen the extrainstruction until this verse was
read in primary and a 4-year-oldgirl said, what is trimmed?
Why had I never asked thatquestion before the other
teacher and I gave each other alook to see who would answer,
(18:26):
but honestly, neither of us wasconfident that we had the right
answer.
This Sweet Girls question sentme on an enlightening journey
that brought even more clarityto my question of what is it to
be a woman in Zion?
I also felt it was even morerelevant because of how many
(18:47):
times this parable concerningthe last days had been brought
up in the April, 2025 generalconference.
Okay.
To trim your lamp has multiplemeanings.
First, when you take an oil lampand trim it.
You are getting it ready oradding to it.
(19:08):
Think of trimming a Christmastree to get ready for Christmas.
So you trim a lamp by adding oiland a wick.
The second way you might trim anoil lamp is once you light the
wick, it is important to trimyour lamp by cutting off the end
(19:30):
of a wick, as it frays is toolong or has excess residue
collecting at the end of it.
Let your brain turn on thepossible symbolism as I describe
the difference between a trimmedand an untrimmed.
wick untrimmed, wicks cause dim.
Smoky and ragged flames that areinefficient and burn out.
(19:56):
I had to laugh as I learned thatdescription because I felt like
it was describing me atdifferent times in my life.
Have you ever felt dim, ragged,inefficient, burned out?
But properly trimmed wicksproduce a controlled, clean,
(20:16):
bright, even long lasting flame.
Just saying those words make mefeel lighter.
So what might the wick symbolizeand what is it to figuratively
trim our own lamps so the lightwe shine or our influence can be
bright and lasting.
(20:37):
The beautiful thing aboutsymbolism is that it leaves room
for many differentinterpretations.
So what the Spirit will show youpersonally will be the most
significant, but I will justshare what I see when it comes
to the influence of women.
Yes.
An oil lamp as a wholerepresents our preparedness to
(20:57):
meet the Lord at his coming aswe are prepared lamp, trimmed
and burning.
With extra oil, we can be alight that inspires others to do
the same for themselves.
But let's really break thisdown.
First, I want to focus on thefirst description of trimming
your Lamp, and I want to look atevery part of the oil lamp and
(21:19):
see what we can learn as it allcomes together.
In my research, I learned itmatters the kind of oil and the
kind of wick that you trim youroil lamp with.
First we have the lamp, a vesselmade of what?
Of Clay.
And the clay is you.
(21:42):
In Isaiah 64, 8, it says, ohLord, thou art our father.
We are the clay and thou ourpotter, and we all are the work
of thy hand.
To be made into a vessel ofChrist can be a very
uncomfortable process.
We can be stubborn.
We have our own ideas about whatgifts we do or don't have, how
(22:06):
we prefer to go about growingand changing, and often they
don't align with what God knowsabout us.
He will not force, but we canuse our agency to allow our
creator to continue to createus, trust our lives to his
hands, be pliable so he can moldus into what he sees and become
(22:29):
a vessel for him and of him.
In this case, he is shaping usinto an oil lamp.
Our eventual purpose, themeasure of our creation is to be
a vessel of light.
He will also cleanse and prepareus for his fuel.
So speaking of fuel, let's lookat the next component of an oil
(22:51):
lamp.
And the thing we generally focuson the most in this parable, you
might be thinking, I got this.
Oil is personal testimony, it'sconversion.
Yeah, that is true.
But let's take this deeper.
Specifically.
What kind of oil are oil lampssupposed to be trimmed with?
It's not just any oil, did, youknow, they used pure olive oil.
(23:17):
And what does olive oilsymbolize?
President Nelson explained,remember just as the body of the
olive, which was pressed for theoil that gave light, so the
savior was pressed.
Olive oil can also symbolize thesavior's atonement.
Since the bitter olive windcrushed provides oil that is
(23:40):
sweet.
Jesus Christ gave his life forus all so that we could have
access to godly power close.
So olive oil symbolizes theatonement of Jesus Christ and
the power for light that itgives us.
Olive oil also symbolizespurity, healing, the Holy Ghost.
(24:06):
So filling an oil lamp witholive oil is symbolic of filling
ourselves with all the things wehave access to because of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ,including being filled with the
Holy Ghost and his refining,healing, purifying, enabling.
godly power.
This is where conversionhappens.
(24:29):
We haven't just heard aboutJesus Christ in his Atonement.
We come to truly know him andare changed by him.
Let's also think of oil in thiscontext.
The five virgins who were latebecause they did not have enough
oil.
What did the Lord say to themwhen he answered the door?
(24:49):
Ye know me not.
They couldn't enter because theydidn't have the fuel of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ.
They didn't know Him and thepower of what he could do in
their lives.
I wonder, did they knock on thedoor simply because everyone
else was in there and theyrealized last minute that they
(25:11):
didn't wanna miss out.
Why would you want to go to acomplete stranger's wedding?
It certainly wouldn't be becauseyou cared about the bride and
groom.
Or why would a groom have acomplete stranger attend his
wedding?
It doesn't make sense.
God's ways cannot be strange tous.
We know the Savior throughreceiving and using his gift.
(25:35):
The more we know him, the morewe will be able to draw on this
power, and the more we draw onthis power, the more we will
come to know him.
I have to divert for just asecond to explain another bit of
symbolism that is built rightinto how we were created as
women.
It goes along with the fact thatwe are the vessel and it is
(25:57):
important what we choose to putinto our vessel.
In the creation.
woman was given the inherentability gift to nurture life,
not only within, but after achild is born.
Woman has the power within herto nourish a baby, giving all
(26:20):
that is needed to grow andsurvive as she both carries.
and then nurses, that child.
But this ability is completelydependent on what she takes into
her body.
Her nourishment is only as goodas the water, the food, the
vitamins she takes into her ownbody.
(26:42):
And there are some substancesshe simply should not take into
her body.
I believe this ability that isgiven only to women is symbolic
of the inherent influence alsogiven to women.
Women has the primary privilegeto nurture and influence.
(27:02):
all around her.
The quality of what she's ableto give is highly dependent upon
what she takes in, and therewill be some things she must
completely cut out in order togive every child of God in her
influence the best possiblenourishment.
It will do us good To sincerelyponder what we are taking in as
(27:27):
our fuel each day, are we usinginefficient fuel?
A lot of the things we becomeaddicted to are the things we go
to when we are seeking fuel.
Things that we turn to insteadof turning to Christ.
Or how about this?
I thought I could fill my lampby giving myself a million
(27:50):
righteous check boxes, trying toperfect myself, and then
confused when I felt so empty.
So many members of the church,myself included, have been duped
into believing that fuel comesfrom a checklist of things that
make one perfect when Christ isthe only one who can perfect us.
(28:11):
We are confused why the gospelmakes us feel exhausted.
Nothing left to give.
It isn't the gospel that isburning us out.
It is the inefficient fuel ofperfectionism.
I find it interesting that whenI was drowning in doing all the
things, sure that the Lord wasdisappointed in me and I just
(28:34):
wasn't doing enough that theLord spoke to me.
The same words that were spokento the five foolish virgins in
the parable.
He said to me, ye know, me not.
Those were also the same words.
He spoke to the Pharisees whoprided themselves in
(28:54):
self-sufficiency and followingrules to the point that they did
not recognize the Savior when hewas standing right in front of
them.
Truly knowing our Savior and hisAtonement, that is where our
fuel, our power must come from.
Not a checklist.
It gives a whole new meaning towhen President Nelson said that
(29:19):
women have the right to drawliberally upon the Savior's
power to help your family andothers you love.
When speaking of Jesus Christ,it is said that none other has
had so profound an influenceupon all who have lived and will
yet live upon the earth.
When our inherent influence iscoupled with the influence of
(29:41):
Jesus Christ, evidence of hisAtonement with us fueling our
light, that is true power.
Perhaps this is why PresidentNelson recently urged us to
devote time each week for therest of your life to increase
your understanding of theAtonement of Jesus Christ.
(30:01):
Now coming to know Him willnaturally lead to action
motivation coming out of loverather than out of lack.
I promise you that we are gonnaget to the wick, but let's talk
about the flame first.
The flame is Jesus Christ.
(30:21):
Because of our fuel.
It will be a different lightthan from any other source, and
people will notice thatdifference.
We cannot hide or shrink actionlights this flame of his fuel.
Giving courage to stand out,speak up, and be different from
(30:41):
the people of the world.
Elder Christofferson told us, donot be afraid to apply that
influence without fear orapology.
Just like a light becomesbrighter and brighter and more
noticeable, the darker it gets,that is exactly what will happen
with our light.
The darker the world gets, thebrighter our flame will become.
(31:06):
The darker the world gets, themore people will notice need,
and be drawn to our light, thelight of Christ.
Okay.
Finally, let's talk about whatthe wick might symbolize.
The very first thought that cameto my mind was that the wick
symbolizes our individual giftsand experiences.
(31:28):
After all, that is most oftenhow we let our unique light
shine.
President Kimball said that allof you need to drink in deeply
the gospel truths about theeternal nature of your
individual identity and theuniqueness of your personality.
If the wick is our gifts, theprophet has asked us to pray to
understand your spiritual gifts,to cultivate use, and expand
(31:52):
them even more than you everhave and promised you will
change the world as you do so.
But the Spirit invited me to diga little deeper to see what
increases the influence of ourgifts and experiences as women
in Zion?
This prompting sent me toresearch and discover that in
(32:15):
biblical times, the wick of anoil lamp was most often made of
linen.
I wondered, does linen symbolizeanything biblically?
And the first thing I thought ofwas how the body of Christ was
wrapped in linen for his burial.
But I was surprised.
(32:36):
What I found is I continued tosearch.
Linen is referred to over andover again in the Bible in
description of one significantthing, the ancient temple
garment in Exodus.
It says, and they made coats offine linen of woven work for
Aaron and his sons.
(32:56):
A Mitre of fine linen and goodlybonnets of fine linen and
breaches of fine twined linen,and a girdle of fine twined
linen, as the Lord commandedMoses.
In Leviticus, he shall put onthe holy linen coat and shall
have linen breaches on his fleshand shall be girded with a linen
(33:18):
girdle, and a linen Mitre Theseare holy garments.
Therefore, shall he wash hisflesh in water?
And so put them on.
One could argue that maybe theonly fabric they had access to
was linen, but I've learned thatGod isn't specific about things
for no reason listen to thisverse in chapter 19 of the Book
(33:42):
of Revelation that lays out veryclearly the symbolism of linen.
And let us just note that thischapter is all about the
marriage supper of the lamb, theexact event that the 10 virgins
were preparing for.
In verse seven, it says, let usbe glad and rejoice and give
(34:05):
honor to him for the marriage ofthe lamb is come and his wife
hath made herself ready verseeight, and to her was granted
that she should be arrayed infine linen, clean and white.
for, the fine linen is therighteousness of saints.
(34:26):
Now, in the context of the NewTestament, let me clarify that.
righteousness often relates toliving in accordance with God's
will and commandments.
So what do we wear that is cleanand white and serves as a
reminder of Jesus Christ and tolive in accordance with his will
and our covenants?
(34:49):
The temple garment, it all comesback together.
Linen was used for ancienttemple garments.
Our temple garments symbolizethe Savior and our covenants
with him.
Are you absorbing all this?
I hope so, because here'ssomething more.
The linen used as the wick toabsorb the oil and hold the
(35:11):
light of his flame is the sameas what our temple garments
symbolize.
The wick symbolizes Jesus Christand the covenants we make with
him, the very things that makeus righteous white and clean and
visualize the beauty of this Inorder to provide light, the
(35:36):
linen wick symbolizing covenantswith Christ Or temple garments.
must be dipped in and absorb theolive oil, symbolizing the blood
or Atonement of Christ.
Keeping that in mind, listen tothis in Alma chapter five, verse
(35:56):
27.
Could you say, if you werecalled to die at this time
within yourselves, that ye havebeen sufficiently humble, that
your garments have been cleansedand made white through the blood
of Christ, who will come toredeem his people from their
sins?
When we make and keep covenantsthe light, we are able to hold
(36:21):
magnifies exponentially.
We keep our promises, and Godkeeps His Because of our
covenants, our gifts andexperiences are consecrated for
good in such a way that we can,in turn, consecrate.
all that we have to him for thegood of those around us, for
(36:42):
building up the kingdom of Godand helping to establish Zion on
the earth as a mother in Zion.
Finally, let's come back to theverse that started this search
in the first place where for.
Be faithful praying, alwayshaving your lamps trimmed and
burning and oil with you thatyou may be ready at the coming
(37:07):
of the bridegroom.
If the wick symbolizes the powerof our gifts and experiences
coupled with our covenants withJesus Christ.
Living in accordance with God'swill.
That righteousness.
What is it?
To trim our wicks?
I'll remind you what I saidbefore.
You trim your lamp in two ways.
(37:28):
First by adding oil and a wick,and we've learned the
significance of this trimmingthat what you use as oil as a
wick for your light is veryimportant and impacts the power
and reach of your influence Formaximum influence.
the oil must be the atonement ofJesus Christ and the wick must
(37:52):
be our gifts coupled withcovenant living.
What about the second way totrim?
You?
Trim your lamp by cutting offthe end of the wick as it frays
is too long or has excessresidue collecting at the end of
it.
Remember, Untrimmed wicks causedim, smoky, and ragged flames
that are inefficient andburnout.
(38:13):
Properly trimmed wicks produce acontrolled, clean, bright, even
long lasting flame.
What is it?
To figuratively trim our ownlamps so the light we shine, our
influence can be bright andlasting.
Well, I'm going to stop rightthere and let you ponder it for
(38:35):
yourself.
What causes you to feel dim,ragged, inefficient, burnt out?
What helps you to feel clean,bright, even long lasting?
I have my own ideas on this andI'm gonna share them with you in
my next podcast episode.
But along with these questions,perhaps you can ask God, what
(38:57):
are the gifts that he needs youto accept, open and use to
influence those around you forgood.
Or perhaps we need to work onthat oil asking How can I come
to know you better?
What do I have wrong about you?
What is something I need to knowabout you?
I am eager and excited to learnwhat the Spirit has taught you,
(39:20):
Leave a comment on YouTube orover On TikTok, Facebook,
Instagram, wherever you want.
And remember, Jesus Christ isour fuel.
Jesus Christ is our light.
Jesus Christ is hope, smilingbrightly.
President Harold B.
Lee said Women's influence canbless a community or a nation to
that extent, to which shedevelops her spiritual powers in
harmony with the heaven sentgifts with which she has been
endowed by nature.
(00:20):
Welcome to season two of theHope smiling brightly.
Podcast, sharing stories andideas that will empower you to
overcome doubt, cultivate thekind of faith that miracles are
made of, and experience thetransformative grace of Christ.
Whatever it is, Christ is theanswer.
(00:42):
I am your host Amber, also knownas@amberdawnpearce on social
media, hopefully most especiallyknown as someone who loves to
share the light of the restoredgospel of Jesus'Christ.
You are listening to episode 15,the Inherent Power within Every
Woman in Zion.
(01:02):
Little housekeeping here.
I wanna make sure that you knowthat you can watch this show or
listen to it as a podcast.
It's on YouTube, it's on any ofyour favorite podcast apps.
And thank you so much for takinga second to subscribe.
Leave a review or a comment.
It helps me get this content outto more people that might be
(01:26):
seeking it.
Speaker (01:28):
Before we jump in, I wanna share something with you
that I am really excited about.
I am heading on a bucket listcruise to one of the most
beautiful places on earth, and Iwant you to come with me.
I am joining with BountifulTravel for a seven day LDS
Alaskan cruise.
It's happening July 30th throughAugust 6th, 2026.
(01:51):
I will be speaking and sharingtwo unique presentations each
day that we are at sea, Andjoining the optional private
tours for our group at everyport.
I have gone on a cruise with anLDS tour group before, and I
loved how it createdopportunities for wholesome
conversations and an upliftingenvironment.
(02:13):
It was fun meeting like-mindedpeople from all over and making
friends with people that I amstill in touch with several
years later, it truly made ourtrip all the more enjoyable.
Now this tour group withBountiful Travel has limited
space, and you'll want to bookfar in advance to guarantee your
spot.
(02:33):
It's only$400 to reserve yourspot today, so grab your
friends, grab your family, andhead over to bountiful
travel.com to make yourreservation.
I will leave the direct link inthe show notes, but I cannot
wait to see you in Alaska.
Amber (02:54):
Alright.
I left you with a little bit ofa cliffhanger at the end of
season one, so, I have been soexcited to start another great
season with the third and finalpart of my little series on
understanding your magnificentand powerful role as a woman in
Zion.
(03:14):
If this is your first timelistening.
Welcome.
You may want to listen to partone and two of this series
first, if you haven't already,or even if you have, you might
wanna listen to it for a recapto see how all this comes so
beautifully together.
I also wanted to start with alittle reminder that I am on
(03:36):
this journey with you.
My voice will never, ever matchthe voice of the Holy Spirit.
That is why that at the end ofevery podcast, I suggest a
question that you might ask God.
See what answers might come foryou.
Your personal study andcommunication with God will be
more powerful than anything youcan learn from any podcast,
(04:01):
YouTube channel, or contentcreator.
So speaking of questions, thisseries all started with the
question, how do I draw more ofthe power of Jesus Christ into
my life?
Part of the answer to thatquestion be can be found in
asking and understanding what itis to be a woman or man in Zion
(04:23):
and fully stepping into thatrole.
This is what the Lord wants forus in these last days to
establish Zion, so you canguarantee that his power will be
with us as we seek to do so.
And since we each have a uniquerole in establishing Zion, the
next question will be, whatdistinct assignment was I given
(04:47):
in the world before this onewas, If you listen to or watch
the last episode, you know thatin my study to understand the
role of women in Zion, I cameacross two words repeated over
and over again as I scouredthrough every talk that I could
find about women.
That first word was inherent,which we already discussed the
(05:12):
significance of in part two, buttoday I want to talk about what
I know everyone's been waitingfor.
The second word I saw over andover again in reference to
women.
First I noticed a unique call tospecifically women over and over
(05:34):
again.
I wanted to know why women werebeing called to this particular
responsibility.
L isten to these quotes,inviting, pleading with us to
use this inherent gift I'm aboutto talk about for good.
From Elder Ballard, none of uscan afford to stand by and watch
(05:58):
the purposes of God bediminished and pushed aside.
I invite, particularly yousisters here and throughout the
church to seek the guidance ofheaven in knowing what you can
do to let your voice of faithand testimony be heard.
From President Kimball, much ofthe major growth that is coming
(06:20):
to the church in the last dayswill come because many of the
good women of the world in whomthere is often such an inner
sense of spirituality will bedrawn to the church in large
numbers.
And finally, from PresidentNelson.
We need women who have a bedrockunderstanding of the doctrine of
(06:42):
Christ and who will use thatunderstanding to teach and help
raise a sin resistantgeneration.
We need women who can detectdeception in all its forms.
We need women who know how toaccess the power that God makes
available to covenant keepers.
Who express their beliefs withconfidence and charity.
(07:02):
We need women who have thecourage and the vision of our
Mother Eve.
These calls are directlyconnected to the second word I
saw repeated multiple times inconnection to women.
Maybe you can pick up on thisword in the following quotes by
President Nelson.
Sisters, do you realize thebreadth and scope of your
(07:28):
influence when you speak thosethings that come to your heart
and mind as directed by thespirit.
Sisters, please neverunderestimate the extraordinary
power within you to influenceothers for good.
It is a gift with which ourHeavenly Father has endowed
(07:51):
every covenant woman.
And President Nelson asked us tostep forward and take our
rightful place and gave anapostolic promise saying, I
promise you in the name of JesusChrist, that as you do so, the
Holy Ghost will magnify yourinfluence in an unprecedented
(08:13):
way.
Close quote, Have you guessedthe word?
Influence! Influence! I heardit, read it, saw it over and
over again.
Because the unique inherentqualities within women, coupled
with the inherent right tomotherhood, Heavenly Parents
(08:36):
created within us a combinationthat leads to the incredible
gift and power.
Of influence.
Now I have to add a little sidenote here because I know there
are women of all circumstanceshere.
Single married children, nochildren.
(08:56):
I wholeheartedly agree withSheri Dew when she said that.
As daughters of our HeavenlyFather and as Daughters of Eve,
we are all mothers and we havealways been mothers.
The things I'm about to speakare for all women.
All women are blessed with thispowerful gift of influence In
(09:20):
fact, I find it interesting thatif you were to ask me who the
most influential women in thechurch are to me, I would give
you three names without skippinga beat.
Sheri Dew, Wendy Watson Nelson,and Sharon Eubank.
What do these three women happento have in common?
(09:43):
None of them ever bore children.
Clearly they have stepped intotheir role as mothers in Zion
because they have used theirinherent gift of influence
through their eternal motherhoodto greatly influence my life and
the lives of many others.
(10:03):
No matter your circumstance, Godwill help you see how you can
use this gift in magnificentways.
So as Sheri Dew said, sisters,it is high time for us to arise
and have the influence Godintended us to have.
It is high time for us to leadthe women of the world.
It is high time for us to modelthe distinctiveness and
(10:27):
happiness that sets truefollowers of Jesus Christ apart.
The magnificent influence ofwomen is seen in the first woman
created as Eve was the one whohad the wisdom and made the
heroic choice to partake of thefruit and to use her influence
to help Adam understand thatthis is what was needed for the
(10:50):
good of all mankind.
It is seen in Mary who was theinfluence behind the very first
miracle publicly performed,which started the ministry of
her son, Jesus Christ.
And let's note that it was awoman the Savior chose to reveal
himself to first in his mortalministry.
(11:10):
He chose the woman at the welland depended on her influence to
help spread the word of Him andHis mission.
And what about another importantwitness?
Mary Magdalene was the firstwitness of the resurrected
Savior, the one chosen to useher influence to declare the
(11:33):
miraculous news.
almost every story in thescriptures about a woman
witnesses of her influence.
And I can guarantee the evidenceof woman's influence is
intertwined in every singlescripture story, whether about a
woman or not.
I think it's interesting that inthe book of Revelation, it is a
(11:56):
woman that is used to symbolizethe state of the world.
In the last days in opposingways.
In Revelation 12, we see thedescription of the woman clothed
with the sun.
SUN believed by members of thechurch to symbolize God's
covenant people.
(12:17):
But in Revelation 17, we see thedescription of the mother of
harlots and abominations of theearth.
Now I know this is just symbolicand refers to the state of all
God's children and not justwomen, but I personally believe
it holds significance that thereis a deeper reason as to why
words that are used for a groupof people, a city, a nation, are
(12:41):
all feminine.
I believe there is a messagehere, that it is the powerful
influence of women that dictatesthe destiny of a nation for good
or evil.
Though all women have thisinfluence, some will use it for
good, some might be neutral, andsome will use it for evil.
The opposing examples of Estherversus Herods are significant in
(13:05):
showing the power of a woman'sinfluence, whether good or evil.
Here we have two rulers, bothwho had men who were trying to
influence them.
In Esther's case, the evil Hamanwas trying to influence King
Ahasuerus to kill all the Jews.
(13:27):
In Herodias case, the righteousJohn the Baptist was trying to
influence Herod to follow theteachings of Christ.
But who did those rulers listento?
A woman, Esther, who was willingto sacrifice herself to save her
people influence the king forgood.
(13:51):
Herods who wanted to continue inher sinful life, used her own
daughter to use a woman'sinfluence for evil and achieved
her design.
Which was to have the head ofJohn the Baptist.
Notice that in both of thesecases, the result was the death
of the men who had been tryingto influence these rulers.
(14:14):
But Esther was humble andselfless.
While Herodius only cared aboutherself, she was prideful and
selfish.
Our motivation needs to come outof humility and selflessness.
You simply can't tell me thatwomen don't have powerful
influence, whatever theircircumstance may be.
(14:37):
Perhaps this is why our prophethas stated that quote, your
ability to discern truth fromerror to be society's guardians
of morality is crucial in theselatter days, and we depend upon
you to teach others to dolikewise.
Let me be very clear about this.
If the world loses the moralrectitude of its women, the
(15:00):
world will never recover Closequote.
And Elder Christofferson said,whether you are single or
married, whether you have bornchildren or not, whether you are
old or young, or in between yourmoral authority is vital.
And perhaps we have begun totake it and you for granted.
Certainly there are trends andforces at work that would weaken
(15:23):
and even eliminate yourinfluence to the great detriment
of individuals, families, andsociety at large.
Close quote, How important itis.
as we strive to fully step intoour role as women in Zion, to
recognize and use our inherentinfluence to bring others with
us to Zion.
(15:43):
God has prepared women for thistime to be the kind of influence
the world actually needs.
The influence women of theChurch of Jesus Christ of
Latterday Saints have is unique.
The truths of the gospel coupledwith the opportunities provided
as an active member of thechurch is rich soil for these
inherent gifts to grow into truegodliness.
(16:07):
It doesn't matter if our numbersare small, as we make and keep
covenants the name of Christupon us and endowed with
priesthood power, our influencebecomes one of the most
important and powerful on Earth.
As President Nelson said, thekingdom of God is not and cannot
be complete without women whomake sacred covenants and then
(16:31):
keep them women who can speakwith the power and authority of
God.
So how can we make sure we areinfluencing in the way that God
needs?
Bonnie Corden explained that theLord's invitation to let our
Light, so shine is not justabout randomly waving a beam of
(16:52):
light and making the worldgenerally brighter.
It is about focusing our lightso others may see the way to
Christ.
So how do we do this?
How do we make sure weunderstand and focus our own
unique light?
The answer can be found in awell-known parable, but a part
of it we don't talk about asmuch The symbolism behind the 10
(17:16):
virgins and their oil lamps.
We often focus on having enoughoil, but that isn't the only
instruction in D&C section 33verse 17, it says.
Wherefore be faithful praying,always having your lamps trimmed
(17:37):
and burning and oil with youthat you may be ready at the
coming of the bridegroom.
And Camille Johnson referred tothat scripture, just in the
April 25 general conference.
She said, keep your lamp full ofthe oil conversion to Jesus
Christ and be prepared to keepyour lamp trimmed and burning
(18:02):
bright.
I had never seen the extrainstruction until this verse was
read in primary and a 4-year-oldgirl said, what is trimmed?
Why had I never asked thatquestion before the other
teacher and I gave each other alook to see who would answer,
(18:26):
but honestly, neither of us wasconfident that we had the right
answer.
This Sweet Girls question sentme on an enlightening journey
that brought even more clarityto my question of what is it to
be a woman in Zion?
I also felt it was even morerelevant because of how many
(18:47):
times this parable concerningthe last days had been brought
up in the April, 2025 generalconference.
Okay.
To trim your lamp has multiplemeanings.
First, when you take an oil lampand trim it.
You are getting it ready oradding to it.
(19:08):
Think of trimming a Christmastree to get ready for Christmas.
So you trim a lamp by adding oiland a wick.
The second way you might trim anoil lamp is once you light the
wick, it is important to trimyour lamp by cutting off the end
(19:30):
of a wick, as it frays is toolong or has excess residue
collecting at the end of it.
Let your brain turn on thepossible symbolism as I describe
the difference between a trimmedand an untrimmed.
wick untrimmed, wicks cause dim.
Smoky and ragged flames that areinefficient and burn out.
(19:56):
I had to laugh as I learned thatdescription because I felt like
it was describing me atdifferent times in my life.
Have you ever felt dim, ragged,inefficient, burned out?
But properly trimmed wicksproduce a controlled, clean,
(20:16):
bright, even long lasting flame.
Just saying those words make mefeel lighter.
So what might the wick symbolizeand what is it to figuratively
trim our own lamps so the lightwe shine or our influence can be
bright and lasting.
(20:37):
The beautiful thing aboutsymbolism is that it leaves room
for many differentinterpretations.
So what the Spirit will show youpersonally will be the most
significant, but I will justshare what I see when it comes
to the influence of women.
Yes.
An oil lamp as a wholerepresents our preparedness to
(20:57):
meet the Lord at his coming aswe are prepared lamp, trimmed
and burning.
With extra oil, we can be alight that inspires others to do
the same for themselves.
But let's really break thisdown.
First, I want to focus on thefirst description of trimming
your Lamp, and I want to look atevery part of the oil lamp and
(21:19):
see what we can learn as it allcomes together.
In my research, I learned itmatters the kind of oil and the
kind of wick that you trim youroil lamp with.
First we have the lamp, a vesselmade of what?
Of Clay.
And the clay is you.
(21:42):
In Isaiah 64, 8, it says, ohLord, thou art our father.
We are the clay and thou ourpotter, and we all are the work
of thy hand.
To be made into a vessel ofChrist can be a very
uncomfortable process.
We can be stubborn.
We have our own ideas about whatgifts we do or don't have, how
(22:06):
we prefer to go about growingand changing, and often they
don't align with what God knowsabout us.
He will not force, but we canuse our agency to allow our
creator to continue to createus, trust our lives to his
hands, be pliable so he can moldus into what he sees and become
(22:29):
a vessel for him and of him.
In this case, he is shaping usinto an oil lamp.
Our eventual purpose, themeasure of our creation is to be
a vessel of light.
He will also cleanse and prepareus for his fuel.
So speaking of fuel, let's lookat the next component of an oil
(22:51):
lamp.
And the thing we generally focuson the most in this parable, you
might be thinking, I got this.
Oil is personal testimony, it'sconversion.
Yeah, that is true.
But let's take this deeper.
Specifically.
What kind of oil are oil lampssupposed to be trimmed with?
It's not just any oil, did, youknow, they used pure olive oil.
(23:17):
And what does olive oilsymbolize?
President Nelson explained,remember just as the body of the
olive, which was pressed for theoil that gave light, so the
savior was pressed.
Olive oil can also symbolize thesavior's atonement.
Since the bitter olive windcrushed provides oil that is
(23:40):
sweet.
Jesus Christ gave his life forus all so that we could have
access to godly power close.
So olive oil symbolizes theatonement of Jesus Christ and
the power for light that itgives us.
Olive oil also symbolizespurity, healing, the Holy Ghost.
(24:06):
So filling an oil lamp witholive oil is symbolic of filling
ourselves with all the things wehave access to because of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ,including being filled with the
Holy Ghost and his refining,healing, purifying, enabling.
godly power.
This is where conversionhappens.
(24:29):
We haven't just heard aboutJesus Christ in his Atonement.
We come to truly know him andare changed by him.
Let's also think of oil in thiscontext.
The five virgins who were latebecause they did not have enough
oil.
What did the Lord say to themwhen he answered the door?
(24:49):
Ye know me not.
They couldn't enter because theydidn't have the fuel of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ.
They didn't know Him and thepower of what he could do in
their lives.
I wonder, did they knock on thedoor simply because everyone
else was in there and theyrealized last minute that they
(25:11):
didn't wanna miss out.
Why would you want to go to acomplete stranger's wedding?
It certainly wouldn't be becauseyou cared about the bride and
groom.
Or why would a groom have acomplete stranger attend his
wedding?
It doesn't make sense.
God's ways cannot be strange tous.
We know the Savior throughreceiving and using his gift.
(25:35):
The more we know him, the morewe will be able to draw on this
power, and the more we draw onthis power, the more we will
come to know him.
I have to divert for just asecond to explain another bit of
symbolism that is built rightinto how we were created as
women.
It goes along with the fact thatwe are the vessel and it is
(25:57):
important what we choose to putinto our vessel.
In the creation.
woman was given the inherentability gift to nurture life,
not only within, but after achild is born.
Woman has the power within herto nourish a baby, giving all
(26:20):
that is needed to grow andsurvive as she both carries.
and then nurses, that child.
But this ability is completelydependent on what she takes into
her body.
Her nourishment is only as goodas the water, the food, the
vitamins she takes into her ownbody.
(26:42):
And there are some substancesshe simply should not take into
her body.
I believe this ability that isgiven only to women is symbolic
of the inherent influence alsogiven to women.
Women has the primary privilegeto nurture and influence.
(27:02):
all around her.
The quality of what she's ableto give is highly dependent upon
what she takes in, and therewill be some things she must
completely cut out in order togive every child of God in her
influence the best possiblenourishment.
It will do us good To sincerelyponder what we are taking in as
(27:27):
our fuel each day, are we usinginefficient fuel?
A lot of the things we becomeaddicted to are the things we go
to when we are seeking fuel.
Things that we turn to insteadof turning to Christ.
Or how about this?
I thought I could fill my lampby giving myself a million
(27:50):
righteous check boxes, trying toperfect myself, and then
confused when I felt so empty.
So many members of the church,myself included, have been duped
into believing that fuel comesfrom a checklist of things that
make one perfect when Christ isthe only one who can perfect us.
(28:11):
We are confused why the gospelmakes us feel exhausted.
Nothing left to give.
It isn't the gospel that isburning us out.
It is the inefficient fuel ofperfectionism.
I find it interesting that whenI was drowning in doing all the
things, sure that the Lord wasdisappointed in me and I just
(28:34):
wasn't doing enough that theLord spoke to me.
The same words that were spokento the five foolish virgins in
the parable.
He said to me, ye know, me not.
Those were also the same words.
He spoke to the Pharisees whoprided themselves in
(28:54):
self-sufficiency and followingrules to the point that they did
not recognize the Savior when hewas standing right in front of
them.
Truly knowing our Savior and hisAtonement, that is where our
fuel, our power must come from.
Not a checklist.
It gives a whole new meaning towhen President Nelson said that
(29:19):
women have the right to drawliberally upon the Savior's
power to help your family andothers you love.
When speaking of Jesus Christ,it is said that none other has
had so profound an influenceupon all who have lived and will
yet live upon the earth.
When our inherent influence iscoupled with the influence of
(29:41):
Jesus Christ, evidence of hisAtonement with us fueling our
light, that is true power.
Perhaps this is why PresidentNelson recently urged us to
devote time each week for therest of your life to increase
your understanding of theAtonement of Jesus Christ.
(30:01):
Now coming to know Him willnaturally lead to action
motivation coming out of loverather than out of lack.
I promise you that we are gonnaget to the wick, but let's talk
about the flame first.
The flame is Jesus Christ.
(30:21):
Because of our fuel.
It will be a different lightthan from any other source, and
people will notice thatdifference.
We cannot hide or shrink actionlights this flame of his fuel.
Giving courage to stand out,speak up, and be different from
(30:41):
the people of the world.
Elder Christofferson told us, donot be afraid to apply that
influence without fear orapology.
Just like a light becomesbrighter and brighter and more
noticeable, the darker it gets,that is exactly what will happen
with our light.
The darker the world gets, thebrighter our flame will become.
(31:06):
The darker the world gets, themore people will notice need,
and be drawn to our light, thelight of Christ.
Okay.
Finally, let's talk about whatthe wick might symbolize.
The very first thought that cameto my mind was that the wick
symbolizes our individual giftsand experiences.
(31:28):
After all, that is most oftenhow we let our unique light
shine.
President Kimball said that allof you need to drink in deeply
the gospel truths about theeternal nature of your
individual identity and theuniqueness of your personality.
If the wick is our gifts, theprophet has asked us to pray to
understand your spiritual gifts,to cultivate use, and expand
(31:52):
them even more than you everhave and promised you will
change the world as you do so.
But the Spirit invited me to diga little deeper to see what
increases the influence of ourgifts and experiences as women
in Zion?
This prompting sent me toresearch and discover that in
(32:15):
biblical times, the wick of anoil lamp was most often made of
linen.
I wondered, does linen symbolizeanything biblically?
And the first thing I thought ofwas how the body of Christ was
wrapped in linen for his burial.
But I was surprised.
(32:36):
What I found is I continued tosearch.
Linen is referred to over andover again in the Bible in
description of one significantthing, the ancient temple
garment in Exodus.
It says, and they made coats offine linen of woven work for
Aaron and his sons.
(32:56):
A Mitre of fine linen and goodlybonnets of fine linen and
breaches of fine twined linen,and a girdle of fine twined
linen, as the Lord commandedMoses.
In Leviticus, he shall put onthe holy linen coat and shall
have linen breaches on his fleshand shall be girded with a linen
(33:18):
girdle, and a linen Mitre Theseare holy garments.
Therefore, shall he wash hisflesh in water?
And so put them on.
One could argue that maybe theonly fabric they had access to
was linen, but I've learned thatGod isn't specific about things
for no reason listen to thisverse in chapter 19 of the Book
(33:42):
of Revelation that lays out veryclearly the symbolism of linen.
And let us just note that thischapter is all about the
marriage supper of the lamb, theexact event that the 10 virgins
were preparing for.
In verse seven, it says, let usbe glad and rejoice and give
(34:05):
honor to him for the marriage ofthe lamb is come and his wife
hath made herself ready verseeight, and to her was granted
that she should be arrayed infine linen, clean and white.
for, the fine linen is therighteousness of saints.
(34:26):
Now, in the context of the NewTestament, let me clarify that.
righteousness often relates toliving in accordance with God's
will and commandments.
So what do we wear that is cleanand white and serves as a
reminder of Jesus Christ and tolive in accordance with his will
and our covenants?
(34:49):
The temple garment, it all comesback together.
Linen was used for ancienttemple garments.
Our temple garments symbolizethe Savior and our covenants
with him.
Are you absorbing all this?
I hope so, because here'ssomething more.
The linen used as the wick toabsorb the oil and hold the
(35:11):
light of his flame is the sameas what our temple garments
symbolize.
The wick symbolizes Jesus Christand the covenants we make with
him, the very things that makeus righteous white and clean and
visualize the beauty of this Inorder to provide light, the
(35:36):
linen wick symbolizing covenantswith Christ Or temple garments.
must be dipped in and absorb theolive oil, symbolizing the blood
or Atonement of Christ.
Keeping that in mind, listen tothis in Alma chapter five, verse
(35:56):
27.
Could you say, if you werecalled to die at this time
within yourselves, that ye havebeen sufficiently humble, that
your garments have been cleansedand made white through the blood
of Christ, who will come toredeem his people from their
sins?
When we make and keep covenantsthe light, we are able to hold
(36:21):
magnifies exponentially.
We keep our promises, and Godkeeps His Because of our
covenants, our gifts andexperiences are consecrated for
good in such a way that we can,in turn, consecrate.
all that we have to him for thegood of those around us, for
(36:42):
building up the kingdom of Godand helping to establish Zion on
the earth as a mother in Zion.
Finally, let's come back to theverse that started this search
in the first place where for.
Be faithful praying, alwayshaving your lamps trimmed and
burning and oil with you thatyou may be ready at the coming
(37:07):
of the bridegroom.
If the wick symbolizes the powerof our gifts and experiences
coupled with our covenants withJesus Christ.
Living in accordance with God'swill.
That righteousness.
What is it?
To trim our wicks?
I'll remind you what I saidbefore.
You trim your lamp in two ways.
(37:28):
First by adding oil and a wick,and we've learned the
significance of this trimmingthat what you use as oil as a
wick for your light is veryimportant and impacts the power
and reach of your influence Formaximum influence.
the oil must be the atonement ofJesus Christ and the wick must
(37:52):
be our gifts coupled withcovenant living.
What about the second way totrim?
You?
Trim your lamp by cutting offthe end of the wick as it frays
is too long or has excessresidue collecting at the end of
it.
Remember, Untrimmed wicks causedim, smoky, and ragged flames
that are inefficient andburnout.
(38:13):
Properly trimmed wicks produce acontrolled, clean, bright, even
long lasting flame.
What is it?
To figuratively trim our ownlamps so the light we shine, our
influence can be bright andlasting.
Well, I'm going to stop rightthere and let you ponder it for
(38:35):
yourself.
What causes you to feel dim,ragged, inefficient, burnt out?
What helps you to feel clean,bright, even long lasting?
I have my own ideas on this andI'm gonna share them with you in
my next podcast episode.
But along with these questions,perhaps you can ask God, what
(38:57):
are the gifts that he needs youto accept, open and use to
influence those around you forgood.
Or perhaps we need to work onthat oil asking How can I come
to know you better?
What do I have wrong about you?
What is something I need to knowabout you?
I am eager and excited to learnwhat the Spirit has taught you,
(39:20):
Leave a comment on YouTube orover On TikTok, Facebook,
Instagram, wherever you want.
And remember, Jesus Christ isour fuel.
Jesus Christ is our light.
Jesus Christ is hope, smilingbrightly.
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